


Ephemeral Nights

by orphan_account



Series: PruCan Collection [10]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canada has insomnia, Domestic Fluff, Driving, F/F, Fluff, Married Couple, Peace, Slice of Life, They are good parents, slight insomnia, unnamed baby - Freeform, very slight angst it's not even really angst okay I swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 08:30:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10873029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: there is no summary. It is what it is





	Ephemeral Nights

The roll of the tires on the wet gravel overtook the rapping on the radio. Madeline’s glasses kept slipping down her nose as she fumbled with the volume, encouraging it louder and louder. Her hair was in two sloppy braids down her front and her bangs kept getting in her eyes. But she kept driving. Alway onward. The baby slept better when she drove, not at all disturbed by the thrum of the radio. Sometimes Madeline stopped for a quick grocery run, car locked and baby held tightly in her arms. He always slept peacefully through these short trips if she hummed. She  _ was _ a good mother. 

She would drive back home in two hours, arriving home twenty minutes before Julchen woke up. She would have their kid in his high chair plastering Cheerios to his face and pancakes on the table for when Julchen was ready to eat. Julchen would rush out the door and Maddie would take her son to the Mommy and Me group they were apart of. 

But for now, she just drove. Sometimes he woke up and she would park the car on the side of the road. She would get out, shielding him from any lights and hold him in her arms. She would turn on Baby’s Classics and lull him to sleep. Sometimes she just stayed there, on the side of the road, him holding her finger tightly and staring at his face until it was time to go back. 

If she got too tired, she would park her car in the closest parking lot, lock all the doors, and curl up in the back seat next to his car seat. She never drove if she thought she couldn’t keep her eyes open. 

Julchen worked hard. She deserved the good night’s sleep. Madeline slept in the afternoons while he napped after lunch. If he had a playdate instead, she would talk for a while with the kid’s guardian and know it would be a night of locked doors and curling up in the backseat. 

She had no qualms with any of this. She had always had trouble sleeping at night. Her doctor said she had a mild level of insomnia. Most of the time, she did more resting than sleeping anyway. The driving was peaceful. She felt safe knowing he was right in the backseat. Nothing could happen to him as long as she was there. 

The clock hit the hour mark for driving home so she did so. Her moment of peace ended, however, when she saw the lights on in her home. Something was wrong. The curtains had been opened and the living room was a mess. She did not even bother to pull into the garage, just parked in the driveway and pulled her son from his car seat before heading inside.

Julchen was waiting at the door, a set of keys clutched in her fist tightly. 

“WHERE WERE YOU?”

A flush crept up Madeline’s cheeks, staring into her sleeping son’s face. “Driving.”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was?  _ Mein Gott _ , Madeline! I woke up and neither of you were here. I was just about to go search the entire city.” Keys were rattled in Maddie’s face, waking the baby. He blinked blearily at the jingling metal before sleepily reaching for his mother.

Julchen took him, peppering his little face with kiss. “It’s okay,  _ mein Vogelchen. Deine Mutter ist hier.”  _

“Julchen-” Maddie began. 

“Don’t ever scare me like that again. I thought something horrible happened. I thought maybe he cried and you got up and maybe he had to be taken to the hospital or something.” Julchen was crying now. 

“ _ Désolé.”  _ Maddie set her purse down and embraced Julchen, careful of her sleepy child. “Everything is okay. I just go driving sometimes. It helps both of you get a better night’s sleep.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Julchen murmured into her hair.

She shrugged. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

Julchen just shook her head and kissed her temple. “Come back to bed, dear. I’ll put him down.” 

Maddie did so without arguing, not bothering to change her clothes. Julchen climbed in a little later, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist, face pressed into her neck. Maddie pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and hold her close, humming a lullaby. 


End file.
